Aircraft Registration Process on Import

[SamuelTheKitty]

1. Hoping someone can give me some straight information on this topic, as I suspect my official POC is blowing me fish kisses and TC is of course unreachable.

2. Current situation - the aircraft (relatively new, common type) has been purchased, deregistered off the exporting registry, and is sitting at the end of the OEM maintenance line after having completed all the necessary inspections. Aircraft is serviceable, all maintenance, ADs, etc are completed and up to date.

3. I have been told we are "waiting for TC to register and issue a flight permit to move the aircraft back to Canada" and then some version of an import needs to be done by an airworthiness "delegate" once it arrives.

4. Can someone tell me exactly what has to happen between where we are now (situation in para 2) and the aircraft being ready to fly? How long does this process take?

Much appreciated.

[PilotDAR]

As has been said, the airplane has to be registered in Canada (to get a C registration, without which flight is not permitted at all). With a C reg, you can apply for a flight permit to ferry it into Canada. Then you need an MDM Delegate to do the import paperwork. An MDM can start this process for you while the rest is being arranged, but cannot complete it until the airplane is Canadian registered, and I presume, in Canada, available to be inspected.

I can't speak to how long to have TC register it, a flight permit should take week(s), not months following application if everything is in order.

[SamuelTheKitty]

Any idea how long it usually takes the MDM to complete the paperwork if concurrent effort has been made while waiting for the registration to be completed? How much does TC have to do with the process after the registration is complete and the flight permit issued? I’ve been told the expectation is both of those (registration and permit) will be issued concurrently or nearly so. Does that scan?

[peterdillon]

One way is to do an import is bring it up with US registration but you have gone the other way so lets talk about that. Once you get those reg numbers have those applied to fuselage in the US. Most people use decals for that purpose if they plan to paint on later. Old letters are supposed to be permanently removed. You need to get the ferry permit as stated above which isn't to difficult if its in current US annual when de registered. Technically you need a US ferry permit to operated in the US and a Canadian one when you get to the border and ferry permit needs to be signed out by a maintenance facility that its fit for the ferry flight. Taxes at border upon entry. It needs to be flown back direct to where the MDM is going to do the inspection. That inspection is basically a complete annual but also a check for all serial number matches, make sure all logs are correct, make sure all ad's are correct and no modifications done to the aircraft that are not legal in Canada. Engine overhaul documentation has to be verifiable. Issue new Canadian logs with appropriates entries. The MDM then submits to Transport and then wait. In todays world with everybody being busy it seems to be minimum 3 to six months time and 10K with no snags. You need to make sure that the aircraft is importable before you start and you have all the logs to avoid any surprises. Bit of a learning curve the first time. What is the make model of what you are trying to bring up?

[SamuelTheKitty]

Aircraft is a B300 - manufactured in 2019. Given it just came out of the OEM maintenance line - another complete annual needs to be done on import?

I am confident that the organization actually conducting the purchase and import has experience with this process - they've completed it on several occasions. I'm trying to learn more about this process so I can make sense of the timelines I've been told regarding time to complete.

[peterdillon]

I have imported a lot of aircraft but basically smaller Beaver and Cessna types so that B300 may be a different game. Glad to hear that you have someone familiar with the process. Never had one off an OEM maintenance line but your MDM will know all about that. Just imported a 182 that had 2.5 hours since a fresh annual when it arrived from the US and did another Canadian one as soon as it arrived for import. Sorry I cant be more help.

[RatherBeFlying]

The FAA faxes the deregistration to TC HQ in Ottawa. Your regional office won't be able to find it until such time some weeks later when a TC clerk bestirs him/her-self to dig out the deregistrations from who knows how many feet of curled up fax paper and keys them into their excuse for a computer system.

Of course your regional office has better things to do than pound keyboard and mouse every few minutes until such time as your deregistration eventually shows up. Their hands are tied by HQ inertia.

This is a common first time experience.

The trick is to have the FAA fax YOU what they have faxed to Transport Canada. Then you can send a photo of that fax to your regional office. I got my CofR the next day, but there may be more fooforall with MSM these days.

You can phone the FAA registration people in Oklahoma City. They are reachable and responsive. Ask them nicely to fax YOU a copy of the deregistration they faxed to TC HQ. They are worried about international long distance charges; so you have to nicely explain that their long distance plan includes Canada. They can also FedEx it to you if you have a FedEx account. Or you can have them fax it to somebody you know in the US - like the maintenance facility who'd like to get it off their ramp.

[SamuelTheKitty]

Another factor here is that the aircraft was previously registered in Australia, although after it is successfully de-registered there, I suspect the process doesn't change all that much.

Bottom line, is there any universe where subsequent to de-registration off the previous register, the aircraft can be registered in Canada, imported, and ready to fly in as little as a week, or is this a fanciful timeline?